Year in Review: 2018

Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living" and so chose death over exile.  While I am facing neither, I to appreciate the wisdom in looking back over the past year to examine what happened and think about what I've learned.

I don't really journal (although I would like to be better about journaling...) but I do post regularly on Facebook, so last night, I scanned through my posts from the past year to remind myself of what I was doing, what caught my attention, what I commented on...

So, a quick recap:
Jan: I started the year watching movies (which I did plenty of this year), so apparently spending time with family and friends being entertained is a thing for me.  I posted a lot of inspirational quotes and food for thought throughout the year as well.  Puzzles were a thing for me at the beginning of the year, and they tied into a theme for this year: Mindfulness.  I was investigating the practice and found that the doing of puzzles fit right in with the three principles of Mindfulness: 1) Focused attention on the 2) Present "now", 3) Without judgement.  Finally, I was reminded of my commitment to my self care in 2018, including exercising more regularly.  Overall, a good start to the year!

Feb: This month found me discovering the Chick-Fil-A "One" app wherein I am now conveniently

able to order and pay for more fast food than I need to consume.  Then again, I found a racquetball partner to help me exercise more regularly, so maybe there is some balance here.  Feb is Eleanor's birth month and she prefers experiences over presents (slightly), and so we committed to taking her to a concert in March to see her favorite boy band, Why Don't We, in Austin with her bestie, Sydney.  This birthday (13) marks a milestone... I have no children... only teenagers!  Being self-employed means that I was able to take time to attend the promotion ceremony for my good friend, Jay Hudson, who was ranking up from Captain to Major in the Army.  Finally, at the end of the month, I was able to attend my annual professional conference: TAMFT and get CEUs as I familiarized myself with the work that Esther Perel does on intimacy and relationships.  It was an amazing conference and I felt like I learned quite a lot.

March: The theme of Mindfulness showed up again in my March activities, being more 'present' and considering myself as much as I considered others.  My niece, Stephanie Frerot, came to visit Mom over Spring Break and I enjoyed reconnecting with Julie's family, whom I don't get to see often due to their living overseas.  Amelia and I took Ele and Sydney to the promised birthday concert in Austin and it was an interesting adventure and a good time.  Finally, I discovered moustache wax! 

April: I was honored to be invited to present a training in Mindfulness with Play Therapy at HSU.  I had the unfortunate experience of having to pay more in taxes this year than I had overpaid, so rather than getting a refund, I had to pay more in taxes than I've ever had to before now.  Which, I suppose means that I was more successful than I'd been in previous years, so I'll take that into consideration.  Oh, SNAP!  The long awaited Avengers: Infinity War was probably the highlight of the month.

May: Mary Hannah turned 17 this month, inching closer to adulthood and reminding me why there is so much gray in my beard.  Speaking of my body getting more decrepit, I had a molar pulled, allowing me to utilize all of my anxiety regulation tools at my disposal.  Finally, I took a step forward in my professional life and began the process of becoming a licensed Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapists!

June: Summertime!  We got to share Cloudcroft and the family cabins with our Youth Group from Minter.  This is a special place for us and we got to enjoy it and share the experience.  I participated in my 4th year with Camp Courage, an organization that helps kids grieving loss in their lives due to death, divorce, deployment or incarceration.  Always a great experience to facilitate healing with them.  In my most obvious nod to my Mindfulness/Self-Care focus, I accompanied an amazing group of ACU folk to Colorado and went white water rafting and climbed a 14er (Mt. Missouri).  It was a memorable trip and my second time to go mountain climbing (the first was right after MH was born, 17 years ago!).  This was probably my favorite month, filled with time with family, friends and rejuvenation.

July: Eleanor was able to attend a month long ballet intensive sponsored by Joffrey Ballet at UT in Austin.  We took several trips to Austin, dropping her off, visiting and then picking her up at the end of the month.  The 4th of July is a great holiday and we were able to relax a bit and enjoy the neighborhood parade and festivities.  Eryn turned 15 this month and is now standing eye-to-eye with me!  My memorable movie for the month was the Mr. Rogers biopic, "Won't you be my neighbor" and was easily my favorite movie of the year.

August: Am's birthday (and Sherly's).  It feels like hitting our 40's meant less emphasis on celebrating, but we managed to go on a date to celebrate.  August was a month of recovering from a very busy summer (and an expensive one) and focusing on getting ready for back to school time, which happened this month as well.  Among the notable quotes I posted this year on FB, my favorite for the year was, "You will never look into the eyes of someone whom God does not love."

September: My favorite video from the year found its way onto my FB timeline: Scottish Grandmother reads The Wonky Donkey.  Makes me lol every time: CLICK HERE.  The other big deal this month was MH's wreck.   She wasn't hurt, just banged up, but the van, our primary vehicle, was totalled and we had to start the hunt for new(er) cars.  Ended up taking out a loan and financing two vehicles, which was depressing financially because we finally had no car payments (since we'd paid off the van the previous December).  C'est la vie.

October: My sister, Emma, sent me a watercolor painting of a penguin.  She'd remembered a brief phone conversation from several months prior and it made my day to get that in the mail.  ACU's homecoming arrived with my friend, Scott Stogsdill, coming to town and I enjoyed hanging with his family and being reminded that this was our 20th anniversary of our 1998 undergraduate experience at ACU.  It was humbling to be reminded of the passage of time and the growth and changes that have occurred in the intervening years... and annoying that I'm *still* paying on my loans.  *sigh*

November: Usually my favorite month of the year because of holidays and my birthday, but after


June, November will have to take 2nd place.  It was a little sad because Eleanor made the decision that this would be her last year to participate in ballet, which we have been involved with since she was very little.  So, this was our last time to do the annual Nutcracker event with the ballet studio.  My birthday usually falls on Nutcracker weekend, which is bonkers busy, and so it has been overshadowed for years and this year was no exception, but I still managed to turn 42.  I got to take MH on a college visit to Angelo State University and marvel at the amazing young woman she is becoming.  Thanksgiving was small and brief this year because the BIG event in November was the wedding of my niece, Kaetlyn to her beau, Joshua.  It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving and they'd asked me to officiate!  So, our family grew a bit and I got to visit with most of my sisters and my Dad and his family during the weekend.

December: The one thing I did get for my birthday was a gift certificate from Amelia for a "float" session at a local spa in an Epsom Salt bath in a sensory deprivation tank .  I found time to schedule it and it turned out to be an amazing experience!  I am certain it will be a part of my self-care regimen in the coming year.  Cookiefest continues to be a great family tradition and this year was great. 

So, that is a brief (really!) recap of the my year... how did I grow?  What did I learn?  I feel like this year has been one where I have been more at peace through being mindful of my experiences and remaining 'present' during them.  Mindfulness has been a wonderful addition to my therapy practice and my personal practices.  I grew in my own sense of self and finding better balance in how I attend to others in my life and how I attend to my own needs.  I learned to be more open to new experiences and I'm excited for 2019 and some of the plans that are hopefully going to grow to fruition as I navigate what God has planned for me.

So, if you've read this far, I assume that you are 1) bored, 2) oddly interested in my year, and/or 3) family, friend or fan.  At any rate, thanks for taking the time to read the ramblings and I wish you peace and prosperity in the new year.  May God richly bless you.

-Jeff